The evening before
King Wilhelm of Prussia came for his first visit to Frankfurt on the 15th
of August, 1867 shortly after the city's annexation to Prussia, a fire
swept through the great cathedral. At that time, in their sadness
over their recently lost freedom, the city residents felt that God had
sent a sign.

Cathedral
architect Franz Joseph von Denzinger won the right to rebuild the
cathedral, and to finish its tower according to
its original medieval design.